The Mishal Husain Show Salman Rushdie Isn’t Afraid of Free Speech
Dec 5, 2025
Salman Rushdie, a celebrated novelist known for blending magical realism with historical narratives, shares his harrowing survival story following a tragic attack in 2022. He discusses the struggle of reclaiming his voice through writing, viewing it as a form of optimism and therapy. The conversation touches on his family background, the impact of political climates in India and the U.S., and the rising threat to free speech, including book bans. Amidst challenges, Rushdie remains hopeful about storytelling and its power to navigate complex realities.
42:59
Surviving The Attack And Reclaiming The Story
- Salman Rushdie describes recovering from an attack and initially resisting writing about it because it was too traumatic.
- He realised writing about the event was the only way to process it and reclaim the narrative.
Writing As An Act Of Optimism
- Rushdie frames all writing as an act of optimism because authors hope their work will matter to readers.
- That optimism sustains long solitary efforts with unpredictable outcomes.
Forster, Turing And A Cambridge Ghost Story
- Rushdie recounts meeting E.M. Forster at King's College and receiving encouragement to write about India.
- He also mixed memories of Alan Turing and Forster into a ghost-revenge character in a Cambridge-set story.
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Intro
00:00 • 3min
Rushdie's Recovery and Perspective
02:34 • 2min
Writing as Optimism and Therapy
04:42 • 2min
Early Career Struggles and Finding Voice
06:46 • 2min
Cambridge, Forster and Literary Models
08:50 • 3min
Discovery in the Writing Process
11:46 • 1min
Editing Midnight's Children
12:57 • 1min
Family Background and Cultural Upbringing
14:14 • 5min
Reclaiming Bombay and Research Trip
19:27 • 4min
Politics in Midnight's Children
23:32 • 3min
Concerns About India Under Modi
26:09 • 1min
Ad break
27:17 • 1min
Reception and Family Reaction to His Work
28:44 • 23sec
Ad break
29:07 • 1min
Stories in The Eleventh Hour
30:13 • 1min
Visiting India and Safety Concerns
31:42 • 13sec
Writing Knife and Narrative Distance
31:55 • 1min
Life Under the Fatwa and Journaling
33:11 • 1min
Free Speech: Global Pressures
34:28 • 2min
Book Bans and U.S. School Censorship
36:38 • 2min
Politics, Elections and New York Mayor
38:54 • 2min
Palestine, Two-State Solution, and Protest
40:29 • 2min
Echoes Across Three Homelands
42:20 • 56sec
Working Routine and New Projects
43:17 • 1min
Writing After Injury and Practical Challenges
44:33 • 2min
Outro
46:05 • 3min
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Salman Rushdie was nearly killed when he was stabbed 15 times on stage in upstate New York in 2022. His injuries were so severe that he lost an eye. It was an attack that came decades after he was first subjected to death threats over his novel, The Satanic Verses.
Once he had recovered, he found he was unable to write fiction. However, after publishing an account of what happened to him, the stories returned, with five brought together in his latest book, The Eleventh Hour.
In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Rushdie talks about free speech, the family connection they both share and the places he’s called home, from India to Britain and the US.
02:30 - “Don’t waste your time”
04:40 - Writing as a form of optimism
05:00 - Starting out as a writer
08:00 - Meeting E.M. Forster as a teenager
10:00 - “You write the story to find out what story you’re writing”
11:15 - Writing Midnight’s Children
12:46 - The family connection between Salman Rushdie and Mishal Husain
14:35 - The women in the family
16:00 - Getting together as a family
17:55 - Returning to India to write about childhood
20:30 - Reclaiming India
22:55 - India today and Prime Minister Modi
24:24 - “If you’re paying attention you see things coming”
24:50 - The family reacts to Midnight’s Children
26:44 - A farewell to India?
28:45 - Before and after the fatwa
31:30 - Defending free speech
32:25 - Banning books in the US
34:30 - Zohran Mamdani’s campaign
38:50 - The next novel
40:25 - “I’m a bit clumsier”
Watch this podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS
You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview
Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net
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